Mario Monti 'could announce election bid this weekend'

Mario Monti is weighing up an electoral bid for prime minister of Italy, and
may announce his decision as early as this weekend, according to reports.

Mr Monti said attempts to bring about structural reform and budget discipline have only 'just begun'Photo: Ciro De Luca/REUTERS

By Andrea Vogt, Bologna

7:47PM GMT 20 Dec 2012

Mr Monti, who took over as Italian prime minister as head of a technocratic government last year, is reportedly meeting with key political and business leaders to strategise a potential run for office.

Speaking at the Fiat car factory in southern Italy, Mr Monti said attempts to bring about structural reform and budget discipline have only "just begun," and warned that the bitter pill of budget discipline was necessary.

"It is not for the faint of heart," Mr Monti was quoted as saying by ANSA Italian news services. "But Italy knows how to roll up its sleeves, despite the difficulties and knows how to look forward with renewed faith in the future."

"I think it would be irresponsible to waste all the sacrifices Italians made," he added, in an apparent reference to recent declarations by Silvio Berlusconi about putting an end to austerity.

The country is in dire need of the kind of ambitious reforms Mr Monti proposes, but leaders must also be cautious about an austerity programme that could further inflame simmering populist discontent, said Erik Jones, Director of European Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and Head of Europe at Oxford Analytica.

"There is a huge amount of electoral volatility in Italy now," Mr Jones said. "Underneath there is a bedrock of disquiet of public opinion in the euro. If that beast is riled, it is going to be difficult to contain."

Several reports suggested he will make official his candidacy sometime over the weekend, setting the stage for a three-way race alongside Mr Berlusconi and centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani, who leads in the polls.

Milanese prosecutor Maurizio Romanelli requested he be sent to prison for one year for his involvement in publication of an illegally obtained wiretapped conversation, excerpts of which were published in the conservative newspaper il Giornale owned by Mr Berlusconi's brother, Paolo. Mr Berlusconi has denied ever hearing the wiretap.

Earlier this year the 76-year-old billionaire media tycoon was convicted of tax fraud, which he is appealing, and he remains on trial for allegedly having sex with an under age prostitute.

Italy's 2013 budget, meanwhile, passed the Senate and is headed to the lower house for approval. Mr Monti has said that once the budget is passed, he will resign to allow elections to go forward, tentatively scheduled for February 24.